The present disclosure relates to image forming apparatuses and image forming methods and particularly relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method which are capable of notifying of disaster information.
There exist image forming apparatuses, such as a multifunction peripheral (MFP), capable of printing texts and images. Meanwhile, a printing device with a disaster information receiving function is known which can receive disaster information and automatically print out map information previously stored in a memory and having an evacuation route drawn on a map. With this technique of the printing device with a disaster information receiving function, map information can be automatically printed out just before or after the occurrence of a disaster, so that the user can know the evacuation route even if the printing device should become unusable owing to power outage sometime after the occurrence of the disaster.
However, the above technique, in the event of a disaster, does nothing other than printing out map information drawn in a language previously stored on the printing device. Therefore, users using other languages, such as foreign people, around the printing device cannot effectively be notified of the evacuation route. Specifically, even if the users using other languages look at the map drawn in the previously stored language, they may be unable to understand what happened and may panic or become anxious.